The first year in office of the Cabinet was successful, Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev said after a meeting of the leaders of Bulgaria’s ruling tripartite coalition.

The Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), National Movement Simeon II (NMSII) and Movement for Rights and freedoms (MRF) managed to co-ordinate their activities and exercise mutual control over important decisions, Stanishev said.

A number of coalition priority projects were already carried out, Stanishev said. Bulgaria was moving closer to EU membership because of all measures taken to meet EU requirements, said he.

Coalition rule also achieved fiscal stability, which in turn would guarantee economic growth, said he.

The coalition also promised new social policies. Some of these already managed to decrease unemployment, which reached a record low level, Stanishev said.

Direct foreign investment also went up as a result of the other positive developments, said he. Foreign investment nears 1.2 billion euro for the period under consideration, said he.